(Info) Making of Indian Railway Loco Pilots

Making of Loco Pilots

Life
isn't easy for a loco pilot. Driving for 8-10 hours at a stretch standing, often
in harsh weather conditions, having odd duty hours and worse engines don't even
have a toilet.

A job considered tough even for men, could be unimaginable
for women. In Indian context, imagine a woman who is away from home for about a
full day, and comes back quite tired. She'd have least quality time with her
kids, and managing a family would be hard indeed.

However, challenges come as an adventure for these bravehearts who are out to
become a loco-pilot.

Seema Prajapati, Tanu Priya Shukla, Pooja Kumari from Jhansi
(Madhya Pradesh) and Sunita Choudhary from Kota are among a batch of 157
trainees from the North Western Railway (NWR) zone who are undergoing a 4-week
rigorous training meant for loco pilots at the Udaipur Zonal Railway Training
School.

The training will conclude on September 4. These girls faced
resistance from relatives and neighbours who illustrated reasons and
difficulties before their family members on why they should not send their
daughters to become a loco pilot, but luckily, their parents were supportive who
believed in their daughters.

"We know well that apart from the technical abilities to
drive a train, one must have immense physical and mental strength to become a
good loco pilot and we are confident that we would become one some day," said
Seema Prajapati, a polytechnic engineer hailing from a small village Lohagarh in
Jhansi district.